Questions about an LR-308

Hello all,
I am a new owner of a DPMS LR-308 and so far I am very happy with it. I am of the mindset that any firearm I own must serve multiple purposes so a rifle chambered with such a good round like the 308 seemed like a great choice. Now I would have assumed that such common platform like the AR style would have many aftermarket parts. However I have found that parts for an AR-10 are far less common compared to the AR-15. So now here are some questions I cant seem to find answers to.
- I would love to find information on how to take my rifle down to its basic parts and put it back together...I hate not knowing how to do the work to my firearm. Im not talking work that would require gun smithing more like information so that if i need to replace a part i can.

- I am also finding it hard to find parts that wont cost an arm or a leg. I have the sportical variant for the LR-308 so I already have the six position stock, and the flat top (with a simple red dot sight). I would like to possibly have a rail system around my hand guard so that I could put a front grip and maybe a light.
- now i also have to keep in mind that this rifle will be used for some whitetail hunting. I wont often have to take more than a 100 yard shot so I fell more than fine with my skills and this rifle to do this but I dont want to go out hunting with what looks like an all out tactical rifle, so anything i put on will have to be able to come off with relative ease.

So i can sum up my thought by saying i need any and all information i can about this rifle.

sjh1022,
Congrats on the new purchase. I have an LR-308B, and love it. I'm sure you'll love yours as well.

-Now when you say "take the rifle down to its basic parts", are you talking about just field stripping it for cleaning? Or are you talking about totally taking it apart? if your just talking about field-stripping, here are a couple videos showing you how:

Those videos are for breaking down an AR-15 but it's the same exact process for both rifles.

-As far as a forend that has a rail, here is a link to a website that has a few different ones to choose from. Not only do these have rails, but they're free floated which will improve accuracy as well.

Thank you for the link...I had however already followed the owners manual and learned how to break it down that far for cleaning. I should have been more specific; I would like to be able to take it even further so if i need to work on the gas system or internal parts of the lower. Not saying i will need to but i would much rather know now how to do it rather than wait for something to happen and then have to bring it into a shop. FCross you links did lead me to a series put out by the brownells website (BROWNELLS : GunTech : How to Build An AR-15 Video - World's Largest Supplier of Firearm Accessories, Gun Parts and Gunsmithing Tools) that goes through how to build an ar-15 from parts. I am currently watching them but i believe these videos will be a good resource.

Thank you for you help...I am surprised as to how few people seem to enjoy this rifle compared to the ar-15...to me it seems as though this caliber may cost more to enjoy at the range but overall has far great usage in many situations.

Those videos on Brownells is actually where I was gonna send you next if you had wanted to completely take it down. They're really nice videos. As far as a lot of people not having an Ar-15, I'm sure price of ammo has something to do with it.

-Fred

__________________
"Breathe when you can, shoot when you should."
-Rob Leatham

Im sure; I knew when i purchased this that ammo was not going to be cheap, but i figured this gives me another reason to get further into reloading. I havent tried it yet but the cheapest ammo i have found is the brown or siver bear ammo. I know i dont like the brown bear ammo because i fired a box of it and between 25-50% of the rounds failed to load correctly. I am thinking about trying siver bear because it doesnt have that same paint type coating on the shell...what r your thoughts?

I don't like any of the Bear ammunition because the steel cases it uses don't expand as well as brass does. So it may not get as good of a seal in the chamber as brass does, plus many people say that the laquer coating from the Brown bear can melt off and slowly but surely cause a coating of laquer in your chamber. Not sure whether that really happens or not though. But silver and gold bear ammo both use steel cases as well, which like I said don't expand as well.

-Fred

__________________
"Breathe when you can, shoot when you should."
-Rob Leatham

I have used the regular Wolf 147 grain .308 in my Saiga and have never had a problem. It's cheap full metal jacket.. Doubt if it's a boat-tail bullet but seems to accurate enough for the Saiga.. Hits 4 inch circle at 350 yards all day long. Just be prepared to clean a lot. Then when you think the firearm is clean, do it again..

Well if im just taking it out to the range for a little fun i dont know that i am prepared to pay almost doulbe the price just to get brass untill im can start reloading it...also i was thinking, i havent checked into it but can a bipod be put on the stock LR-308?

Just remove the sling loop and the bipod (Burris w/ swivel base) will mount right up. Then reinstall the sling loop to the bipod.

Congrats on your rifle.

How much weight does that bipod add? I was thinking about getting one but the thing is so heavy as it is. I don't know if i would use it any other time than when I'm bench shooting, in which case I could just use a bag. Are there any benefits to using a bipod?

-Fred

__________________
"Breathe when you can, shoot when you should."
-Rob Leatham